United States President, Donald Trump, has announced sweeping new immigration proposals, including a plan to permanently stop migration from what he described as “Third World countries,” a category that includes many African, Asian, and Latin American nations.
Speaking during a Thanksgiving service, Trump argued that decades-old immigration policies had weakened national security and stretched America’s public resources.
He claimed the country’s foreign-born population, now at an estimated 53 million, includes individuals coming from “failed nations, prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels,” whom he accused of fuelling instability.
The president said the U.S. had been “divided, disrupted, carved up, murdered, beaten, mugged, and laughed at,” blaming what he described as a dysfunctional immigration system.
He alleged that even green-card holders with modest earnings were able to receive significant government benefits, which he said contributed to crime, overwhelmed schools, overcrowded hospitals, and a strained housing market.
Using Minnesota as an example, Trump again criticised Somali refugee communities, claiming they had altered the character of the state in ways he considered harmful.
“Our people stay locked in their apartments and houses hoping they will be left alone,” he said.
Laying out his next steps, Trump declared that he would impose a “permanent pause on migration from all Third World countries” to allow U.S. institutions to “recover.”
He further pledged to overturn what he called “illegal admissions” granted under the Biden administration, revoke federal benefits for non-citizens, and deport immigrants he considers security threats or economic burdens.
His proposals also include reviewing and potentially denaturalising individuals accused of “undermining domestic tranquility,” as well as expelling foreign nationals he argues are “non-compatible with Western civilization.”
Trump insisted that the goal was to dramatically reduce populations he views as “illegal or disruptive,” arguing that “reverse migration” is the only effective remedy.
He ended his remarks with a pointed Thanksgiving message directed at those he accused of undermining American values: “You won’t be here for long.”
The announcement comes shortly after a shooting incident in Washington, D.C, where two National Guard members were injured.
Authorities revealed that the suspect entered the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome in 2021 after aiding American forces in Afghanistan and was granted asylum in 2024.
